We are now about one third of the way through the Top 50 Mets, and most of the players highlighted so far belong to one of two categories: Garretts or Gilkeys. A Garrett is a guy who has a lot of 1-2 WAR seasons with maybe a 3-4 WAR season for his career year. He makes the list and the typical comment is, "this guy's a 1-2 WAR player, and he's on the list? LOLMets." A Gilkey, on the other hand, is a guy who gets traded to the Mets and immediately makes a big splash, say a 5-6 WAR season. Then he falls off a cliff, and the reaction is, "one season, and he's on the list? LOLMets."
In the early days of this feature, Alex Nelson provided a comparison of every team's top (for example) number 49 player. But is it a fair comparison with teams that have played over twice as many seasons, not to mention teams even younger than the Mets? So I decided to compare the top 50 Mets by bWAR with the three franchises which began in either 1961 or '62 -- the Houston Colt 45s Astros, the Washington Senators Part Deux Texas Rangers, and the Los Angeles California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. And for the lulz a control group, I also looked at the Philadelphia Phillies, a franchise that has been in the National League since 1883 (and has lost more games than any other team).
Here are the top 50 players for each team by bWAR. (Spoiler Alert!) For those of you waiting for the Mets countdown to end, you may wish to avert your eyes. (It's not exactly the same; I think the countdown is using fWAR. Also, a certain knuckleballer made a big move up the ladder last year.)
Mets | |||
1 | Tom Seaver | 75.9 | |
2 | Dwight Gooden | 41.6 | |
3 | David Wright | 40.8 | |
4 | Jerry Koosman | 39.5 | |
5 | Darryl Strawberry | 36.5 | |
6 | Carlos Beltran | 31.1 | |
7 | Edgardo Alfonzo | 29.5 | |
8 | Al Leiter | 28.0 | |
9 | Jose Reyes | 27.7 | |
10 | Sid Fernandez | 27.6 | |
11 | Keith Hernandez | 26.5 | |
12 | Jon Matlack | 26.5 | |
13 | Mike Piazza | 24.3 | |
14 | Howard Johnson | 21.9 | |
15 | Mookie Wilson | 20.7 | |
16 | David Cone | 19.5 | |
17 | John Stearns | 19.4 | |
18 | Bud Harrelson | 18.6 | |
19 | Cleon Jones | 18.2 | |
20 | John Olerud | 17.2 | |
21 | Lenny Dykstra | 16.5 | |
22 | Rick Reed | 16.5 | |
23 | Ron Darling | 16.2 | |
24 | Kevin McReynolds | 15.7 | |
25 | Jerry Grote | 15.6 | |
26 | Tom Glavine | 15.3 | |
27 | Johan Santana | 15.2 | |
28 | Tommie Agee | 14.0 | |
29 | Dave Magadan | 14.0 | |
30 | Wayne Garrett | 13.9 | |
31 | R.A. Dickey | 12.9 | |
32 | Tug McGraw | 12.9 | |
33 | Craig Swan | 12.9 | |
34 | Lee Mazzilli | 12.3 | |
35 | Jesse Orosco | 12.2 | |
36 | Bret Saberhagen | 11.7 | |
37 | Steve Trachsel | 11.7 | |
38 | Wally Backman | 11.6 | |
39 | Gary Carter | 11.3 | |
40 | John Franco | 11.1 | |
41 | Robin Ventura | 10.9 | |
42 | Angel Pagan | 10.8 | |
43 | Bernard Gilkey | 10.2 | |
44 | Bobby J. Jones | 10.0 | |
45 | John Milner | 9.9 | |
46 | Armando Benitez | 9.8 | |
47 | Frank Viola | 9.7 | |
48 | Bob Ojeda | 9.6 | |
49 | Steve Henderson | 9.2 | |
50 | Hundley/Youngblood | 9.2 |
Astros | |||
1 | Jeff Bagwell | 79.5 | |
2 | Craig Biggio | 64.9 | |
3 | Jose Cruz | 51.2 | |
4 | Cesar Cedeno | 49.4 | |
5 | Lance Berkman | 48.1 | |
6 | Roy Oswalt | 45.6 | |
7 | Jim Wynn | 41.5 | |
8 | Larry Dierker | 34.4 | |
9 | Joe Morgan | 30.6 | |
10 | Bill Doran | 30.3 | |
11 | Terry Puhl | 28.5 | |
12 | Don Wilson | 27.7 | |
13 | Nolan Ryan | 25.4 | |
14 | Mike Scott | 24.7 | |
15 | Bob Watson | 23.4 | |
16 | Joe Niekro | 23.1 | |
17 | J.R. Richard | 21.6 | |
18 | Shane Reynolds | 19.2 | |
19 | Ken Forsch | 19.0 | |
20 | Glenn Davis | 18.8 | |
21 | Doug Rader | 18.2 | |
22 | Richard Hidalgo | 17.5 | |
23 | Roger Clemens | 16.8 | |
24 | Kevin Bass | 16.6 | |
25 | Turk Farrell | 16.6 | |
26 | Ken Caminiti | 16.5 | |
27 | Billy Wagner | 16.2 | |
28 | Hunter Pence | 16.1 | |
29 | Steve Finley | 16.0 | |
30 | Dickie Thon | 16.0 | |
31 | Luis Gonzalez | 15.0 | |
32 | Wade Miller | 14.4 | |
33 | Morgan Ensberg | 14.1 | |
34 | Denny Walling | 14.1 | |
35 | Mike Hampton | 14.0 | |
36 | Art Howe | 13.8 | |
37 | Rusty Staub | 13.6 | |
38 | Mike Cuellar | 13.2 | |
39 | Wandy Rodriguez | 12.9 | |
40 | Dave Smith | 12.6 | |
41 | Danny Darwin | 12.4 | |
42 | Adam Everett | 12.4 | |
43 | Phil Garner | 12.3 | |
44 | Michael Bourn | 12.2 | |
45 | Jim Deshaies | 12.2 | |
46 | Moises Alou | 11.7 | |
47 | Derek Bell | 11.3 | |
48 | Octavio Dotel | 11.1 | |
49 | Denny Lemaster | 11.1 | |
50 | Bob Bruce | 10.9 |
Rangers | |||
1 | Ivan Rodriguez | 49.9 | |
2 | Rafael Palmeiro | 44.4 | |
3 | Buddy Bell | 36.1 | |
4 | Jim Sundberg | 34.6 | |
5 | Charlie Hough | 32.9 | |
6 | Toby Harrah | 32.2 | |
7 | Juan Gonzalez | 31.8 | |
8 | Kenny Rogers | 31.7 | |
9 | Ian Kinsler | 29.8 | |
10 | Frank Howard | 26.6 | |
11 | Alex Rodriguez | 25.6 | |
12 | Michael Young | 25.4 | |
13 | Rusty Greer | 22.3 | |
14 | Josh Hamilton | 22.1 | |
15 | Ferguson Jenkins | 21.9 | |
16 | Mark Teixeira | 21.5 | |
17 | Ken McMullen | 21.2 | |
18 | Julio Franco | 20.2 | |
19 | Ruben Sierra | 20.2 | |
20 | Pete O'Brien | 18.2 | |
21 | Kevin Brown | 17.8 | |
22 | Mike Hargrove | 17.1 | |
23 | Gaylord Perry | 15.6 | |
24 | Bump Wills | 15.5 | |
25 | Nolan Ryan | 15.3 | |
26 | Will Clark | 15.1 | |
27 | Rick Helling | 14.0 | |
28 | Jose Guzman | 13.9 | |
29 | Hank Blalock | 13.4 | |
30 | Elvis Andrus | 12.8 | |
31 | Adrian Beltre | 12.7 | |
32 | Scott Fletcher | 12.4 | |
33 | Jon Matlack | 12.4 | |
34 | Al Oliver | 11.5 | |
35 | Bert Blyleven | 11.1 | |
36 | Steve Buechele | 11.1 | |
37 | Dick Bosman | 11.0 | |
38 | C.J. Wilson | 10.9 | |
39 | David Murphy | 10.8 | |
40 | Danny Darwin | 10.6 | |
41 | Jeff Russell | 10.6 | |
42 | Roger Pavlik | 10.5 | |
43 | Don Lock | 10.4 | |
44 | Gary Matthews | 10.2 | |
45 | Mark McLemore | 10.2 | |
46 | Ed Brinkman | 10.1 | |
47 | Francisco Cordero | 9.7 | |
48 | Nelson Cruz | 9.6 | |
49 | Matt Harrison | 9.5 | |
50 | Hinton/Knowles | 9.5 |
Angels | |||
1 | Chuck Finley | 52.3 | |
2 | Jim Fregosi | 45.9 | |
3 | Tim Salmon | 40.6 | |
4 | Nolan Ryan | 40.1 | |
5 | Brian Downing | 37.8 | |
6 | Bobby Grich | 35.0 | |
7 | Frank Tanana | 34.4 | |
8 | Darin Erstad | 32.7 | |
9 | Jered Weaver | 29.7 | |
10 | Garret Anderson | 28.1 | |
11 | Mark Langston | 26.2 | |
12 | John Lackey | 25.0 | |
13 | Vladimir Guerrero | 22.8 | |
14 | Troy Glaus | 22.6 | |
15 | Chone Figgins | 22.3 | |
16 | Mike Witt | 22.0 | |
17 | Torii Hunter | 21.1 | |
18 | Dean Chance | 20.4 | |
19 | Jim Edmonds | 20.4 | |
20 | Jarrod Washburn | 20.4 | |
21 | Wally Joyner | 18.9 | |
22 | Doug DeCinces | 18.8 | |
23 | Howie Kendrick | 18.8 | |
24 | Adam Kennedy | 18.4 | |
25 | Rod Carew | 17.3 | |
26 | Troy Percival | 16.9 | |
27 | Dick Schofield, Jr. | 16.3 | |
28 | Francisco Rodriguez | 16.0 | |
29 | Erick Aybar | 15.9 | |
30 | Devon White | 15.3 | |
31 | Andy Messersmith | 14.7 | |
32 | Kirk McCaskill | 14.6 | |
33 | Jim Abbott | 14.3 | |
34 | Kelvim Escobar | 14.3 | |
35 | Bobby Knoop | 13.2 | |
36 | Gary Pettis | 13.2 | |
37 | David Eckstein | 13.1 | |
38 | Albie Pearson | 13.1 | |
39 | Ervin Santana | 12.8 | |
40 | Chili Davis | 12.4 | |
41 | Scot Shields | 12.4 | |
42 | Maicer Izturis | 12.3 | |
43 | George Brunet | 12.2 | |
44 | Bob Boone | 12.1 | |
45 | Mike Trout | 11.6 | |
46 | Clyde Wright | 11.5 | |
47 | Gary DiSarcina | 11.1 | |
48 | Mike Napoli | 10.9 | |
49 | Rick Reichardt | 10.9 | |
50 | Geoff Zahn | 10.6 |
Phillies
1 | Mike Schmidt | 106.5 | |
2 | Robin Roberts | 69.7 | |
3 | Steve Carlton | 64.5 | |
4 | Ed Delahanty | 60.8 | |
5 | Pete Alexander | 60.2 | |
6 | Richie Ashburn | 57.2 | |
7 | Chase Utley | 54.7 | |
8 | Sherry Magee | 47.9 | |
9 | Bobby Abreu | 47.0 | |
10 | Jimmy Rollins | 41.8 | |
11 | Johnny Callison | 39.5 | |
12 | Curt Schilling | 36.8 | |
13 | Roy Thomas | 36.5 | |
14 | Billy Hamilton | 36.3 | |
15 | Dick Allen | 35.5 | |
16 | Chuck Klein | 34.9 | |
17 | Del Ennis | 33.7 | |
18 | Chris Short | 32.2 | |
19 | Jim Bunning | 31.3 | |
20 | Gavvy Cravath | 31.1 | |
21 | Sam Thompson | 30.7 | |
22 | Cy Williams | 30.3 | |
23 | Cole Hamels | 29.2 | |
24 | Scott Rolen | 29.2 | |
25 | Jack Clements | 28.9 | |
26 | Garry Maddox | 28.9 | |
27 | Charlie Buffinton | 27.2 | |
28 | Von Hayes | 27.0 | |
29 | John Titus | 25.9 | |
30 | Lenny Dykstra | 25.6 | |
31 | Charlie Ferguson | 25.5 | |
32 | Tony Gonzalez | 24.4 | |
33 | Willie Jones | 24.3 | |
34 | Curt Simmons | 24.2 | |
35 | Tully Sparks | 23.9 | |
36 | Al Orth | 23.4 | |
37 | Shane Victorino | 23.4 | |
38 | Darren Daulton | 22.3 | |
39 | Dan Casey | 22.0 | |
40 | Elmer Flick | 21.6 | |
41 | Larry Bowa | 21.4 | |
42 | Fred Luderus | 19.8 | |
43 | Granny Hamner | 19.2 | |
44 | Greg Luzinski | 19.1 | |
45 | Kid Gleason | 18.7 | |
46 | John Kruk | 18.4 | |
47 | Ryan Howard | 18.3 | |
48 | George McQuillan | 18.3 | |
49 | Roy Halladay | 18.1 | |
50 | Lajoie/Taylor | 17.6 |
Here is a comparison of the top 50 cumulative bWAR for each team:
Phillies | 1,664.9 |
Astros | 1,128.7 |
Angels | 1,023.7 |
Mets | 963.8 |
Rangers | 933.9 |
And here is a ranking of each of each position as ranked on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis:
Phillies | 250.0 |
Astros | 184.5 |
Angels | 155.5 |
Mets | 84.0 |
Rangers | 76.0 |
Some takeaways from the study:
- The Phillies' dominance would seem to be mainly based on an 80 year head start. By my quick look at their top 50 list, about 27 played for Philadelphia before 1962.
- To show the other extreme, while I didn't include them in the study, a look at B-R indicates that a career WAR of 1 will get you on the top 50 Diamondbacks or Rays list.
- Check out the number 2 and 4 ranked Angels. You now have permission to leave the room and become sick.
- All of the first four expansion teams have top 50 threshold low enough for a player to move up the ranks quickly. Mike Trout is already on the Angels' list after barely one season. In even less time, Matt Harvey is already among the top 50 Mets pitchers (although not yet overall).
- In comparing the first four expansion teams, the Mets rank a distant third. On the other hand, they have won two World Series and four pennants. The Astros, Angels and Rangers have combined for one one WS and four pennants. Personally, I will take that deal anytime.